Another Heart Calls
by Kyriana42
Summary: Duke and Audrey have a chat following the events of "The Trial of Audrey Parker." Not sure where this will go... Reviews welcome!
1. Dinner and a Chat

**Disclaimer: Don't Own, Don't Sue!**** ;D**

**A/N: This is my first Haven fic, no flames please!**

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**Another Heart Calls**

Audrey had returned to her apartment to clean up following her interesting escapade on Duke's boat earlier that day.

So much had happened in such a short amount of time. Her boss had turned up in Haven demanding answers, they got locked in Duke's galley, where she was forced to spill the beans on what exactly she'd been up to in Haven and why she hadn't filed reports for anyone other than Haven PD.

The highlight of her day, more than likely, was when she had quite possibly her most brilliant idea since she came to Haven and found out about the Troubles.

A smile tickled her lips as she chuckled slightly at the memory.

The smile slowly drooped into a half smile when she remembered that she had also resigned from the FBI in order to continue her work and investigations in Haven on her own terms.

In a way she did feel bad that she quit her job, because it meant no more easily replaced items such as cell phones or cars.

On the other hand, however, she was glad that she wouldn't have to worry about her former boss dropping in and checking up on her and now she could only worry about the more pressing matters at hand, like the Troubles and the mystery of Lucy Ripley.

Then the slightly awkward drive back to her apartment with Nathan came to mind. Something was going on with him, but she still couldn't quite figure out what exactly it was.

_ "Wow, I just can't wait to do that again." Audrey had stated sarcastically._

_ "What? Getting trapped on Duke's boat on the high seas with some mind reading criminals or quitting your job?" Nathan asked smirking._

_ "You know what I meant." Audrey laughed._

_ "Geez, I take a day off to play some poker and I still end up working. I hope something good comes out of this day, like a new cell phone." She joked._

_ "Well, I'm sure that Duke would be happy to oblige." Nathan pointed out._

_ "You know? I don't think that I've ever seen you so happy to see me before." Audrey stated suppressing a laugh, trying to change the subject._

_ "Well, I thought that I was going to have to start looking for a new partner. A good partners are hard to come by in Haven." Nathan blurted out._

_ "You did good today, Parker." He quickly stated in his business-like voice, clearing his throat._

_ "Thanks, but I couldn't have done it without Duke. I mean, if he didn't have those secret passages, I probably wouldn't have gotten out to tell you where to find us." Audrey explained._

_ Nathan tensed at the mention of Duke's name. Audrey noticed this._

_ "Are you ever going to tell me what your deal is with each other?" Audrey asked._

_ Nathan didn't respond._

_ Audrey nodded, "thought so."_

_ The rest of the ride to her apartment was silent. As she got out of the truck, Nathan very awkwardly shook her hand saying that he would see her tomorrow._

Audrey's stomach growled, snapping her out of her thoughts. She remembered that she hadn't eaten since before the poker game on Duke's boat last night.

She pulled up her hair as she wandered into the kitchen hoping to find something edible that she could whip up.

Audrey checked the cupboards and the fridge. Nothing. Well, nothing other than a few bottles of beer.

"Crap." She sighed as her stomach growled again.

* * *

As much as she didn't want to, especially after the events of the past 24 hours, she was going to have to eat out tonight.

She sighed again and pulled on a jacket, a pair of boots, and grabbed her wallet and keys as she walked out the door.

* * *

Some time later, Audrey had ended up at the Gray Gull only to find it closed. It wasn't like Duke to have the Gull closed at six o'clock on Saturdays, that was when it was usually busy.

Audrey crept around the building to find Duke seated at one of the tables drinking a beer, staring out at the water.

"Officer Agent Parker, what a pleasant surprise!" Duke greeted, not taking his eyes from the water.

"Actually, it's just Officer Parker, now, Duke." She replied.

Duke turned towards Audrey, his eyes seemed to be lit up. "Really? Now why would you wanna go and quit the feds?"

Audrey went to respond when Duke cut-in.

"Let me guess, you were going to miss Haven and the craziness if you got pulled out now, am I right?" Duke asked taking another swig of his beer.

"Mind telling me why the Gull isn't open?" She asked, even though she had an idea what the answer would be.

"I asked you first." He smirked.

"You know that I need to stay and find the answers that I'm looking for." She replied.

Duke nodded.

"It, uh, might've escaped your notice; but I don't exactly look the part of restaurant owner/manager." He spoke, gesturing to his face.

"Oh, yeah." Audrey muttered, completely forgetting about the beating that Duke had taken earlier that day.

"As much as I enjoy your company, is there a purpose for your visit?" Duke inquired.

"Just stopped down for some dinner and maybe even a chat, but seeing as the Gull isn't open, I'll take my business elsewhere." Audrey shrugged as she turned and started to walk away.

"Wait," Duke called after her. "I see that Sugar isn't with you, so I guess that means you're off the clock?"

Audrey stopped and turned around, "maybe."

"How would you like to join me for dinner?" Duke smiled, leaning forward as he set his empty beer bottle on the table.

"Are you asking me on a date?" Audrey asked incredulously.

"No," Duke answered keeping the idea of a possible date with Audrey fresh in his mind.

"I am simply asking you to join me for a home-cooked meal in my restaurant, which I will be more than happy to cook. You know, should you say 'yes.'" He smiled.

"As a thank you." He added, "for helping me out with the little, ahem, situation that took place on my boat earlier today."

* * *

Audrey sat at the table sipping her martini as Duke came out of the kitchen carrying two plates of spaghetti and meatballs.

"Wow, talk about fast service." Audrey commented jokingly.

"I try my best." Duke replied as he set down the plates down on the table.

They talked very little as they ate; but the small talk was seriously starting to kill Duke's good mood.

"By the way, about earlier today on the boat, when we did that little ear piece trick to throw Ezra off balance." Duke began.

Audrey swallowed the spaghetti that was in her mouth. "Yeah, what about it?"

"I'm sensing there was some ulterior motive behind it." He continued.

"Like?"

"Oh, I dunno," Duke replied, "like revenge of some type?"

"What are you insinuating, Duke?" Audrey asked as she leaned closer across the table.

"I think that there may be some rough waters between us since the day we first met and I s—"

"Stole my clothes." Audrey cut in.

"Saved your life." Duke clarified.

"All in all, I'd say that we're about even; well, almost." Audrey concluded, suppressing a smile.

"Audrey, I'm surprised at you." Duke spoke, trying to hide his amusement.

Audrey wanted to pull away from this flirting thing she had going on with Duke, before it turned into something serious; but she had a feeling that life in Haven just wouldn't be quite the same without their so-called "harmless flirting."

"Really?" she asked, a smile forming along her lips. "Why would that be?"

"If that was all about getting even," He explained, as his face leaned closer towards Audrey's, who was still leaning partially across the table.

"We could've gotten even in a less hostile and more private environment." He finished, articulating each word carefully.

"Is that so?" Audrey inadvertently scoffed, as she watched Duke's face slowly close in the remaining space between their faces.

"You see, Duke, this is why we can't—"

Audrey was cut off by Duke lightly brushing his lips against hers.

"Every time we start to be nice to each other, something blows it up." She muttered, her lips still mere inches from Duke's.

Duke went to kiss her once more, but they were interrupted by a knocking at the front door to the Gull .

He leaned back in his seat and watched as Audrey did the same.

"I'm guessing that's Nathan." Duke said, disappointed.

"I think—I think I'll just head out." Audrey stated, pulling on her jacket.

"Put it on my tab and I'll pay you back later, okay?" She asked turning her head once as she walked toward to the door.

"Sure thing, Officer Agent Parker." Duke nodded, as Audrey opened that door and left with Nathan to take care of some situation that more than likely had nothing to do with the Troubles.

Even though she'd quit the FBI, he'd probably continue to refer to her as 'Officer Agent Parker.' After all, she was the only cop he "associated with" not counting his frequent run-ins with Nathan.

"Another heart calls." Duke smirked as he lifted a beer bottle and toasted the spot where Audrey had been sitting only a few moments ago.

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Please let me know what you think? I tried my best not to make the characters too OOC, so I hope that they're fairly in character. ;)

Please Review! ;D


	2. Did You Ever?

**Disclaimer: Don't Own, Don't Sue!**** D**

**A/N****: Back by popular demand! ;D I do apologize but the updates and responses to reviews will be fairly slow because I am bombarded by coursework, internships, and whatnot; and have very little time to work on fics. =(**

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**Chapter 2****: Did You Ever?**

The call that had come in was about some brawl that had happened on the other side of town. Allegedly, there was four people involved; but when emergency response, followed by Audrey and Nathan, arrived, there was only one.

"Should be a simple case, right?" Nathan smirked, speaking sarcastically.

"Yeah, you do know that we will probably never get anything near normalcy in Haven, right? Besides, I like a good challenge." Audrey laughed.

Nathan patted her on the back as he stepped forward towards the crime scene, "well, then you should _love_ this case."

Audrey smirked and shook her head as she followed her partner closer toward the crime scene. It was nearing the early hours of the morning, dawn threatening the darkness.

The young man, whom, was found at the scene of the crime, nearly an hour or so ago, sat on the ground, covering his face as he wept.

He could not have been much older than twenty or thirty years of age. He had dirty blonde, borderline brown hair, green eyes, and a tan complexion, as though he were outside in the sun for a while; but not in Haven.

"What's his name?" Audrey asked Nathan, keeping her eyes on the young man.

Nathan shrugged. "Not sure, haven't seen him in Haven before."

Audrey crouched down so that she was eye level with the young man.

"Hey there," she spoke softly. "Can you tell me what your name is?"

"It—it's James, James Whittier." He stuttered looking up at Audrey, his eyes bloodshot.

"And here I thought he was gonna say 'James Bond.'" Duke said walking up beside Nathan.

Audrey shot him a meaningful look before turning back to the young man.

"I'm Audrey." She replied.

Audrey glanced back at Nathan and back to James Whittier.

"Can you tell me what happened here James?" she asked.

"Dunno, I just remember walking down the street, it was rather dark. I was being followed by three men. And—and the rest is a blank." James answered.

Audrey searched his eyes before standing and turning to Nathan.

"Well?"

"Well, he's either lying or he really can't remember what happened after he was followed." Audrey pointed out.

"We should take him into custody." Nathan affirmed.

"On what charges? We've got nothing on this guy." Audrey reasoned.

"I'm sure you guys will think of something." Duke blurted out.

"By the way, why are you here, Duke?" Audrey asked, slightly annoyed.

"Oh, just thought something might come up about the Troubles or my services would be required." He replied.

"Well, there's nothing much you can do here at the moment, Duke. So maybe you should head back home." Nathan declared.

"And here I thought we were going to start being nice to each other." Duke retorted sarcastically.

As James went to try and stand, Audrey noticed a dark blood stain on his left leg.

"James, are you hurt?" she inquired, approaching the man.

"Oh, would you look at that?" he spoke, as if amazed that he was hurt.

"It must've happened last night." He continued.

"But you just told me that you couldn't remember anything that happened last night." Audrey spoke, as she slowly turned toward him.

James flinched slightly, whether it was because of the pain or because Audrey might've have painted him into a corner.

"Do you mind if I have a look?" Audrey asked as she approached him cautiously.

James looked as though he were wondering if he should make a break for it or just let Audrey have a look.

"I—I—I guess so." He replied as he sat back down on the ground and let Audrey look at his leg.

She very carefully lifted up his pant leg to check the wound.

Audrey was not the squeamish type, but what she found on James's leg caused her to gasp.

"What?" Nathan and Duke asked at the same time.

"Look." Was all Audrey could say.

James had a symbol carved into his calf. It was the tattooed symbol that was supposed to be on the man that was said to kill Duke.

Duke backed up slightly.

Audrey called for the medics to come and collect James and take him to the hospital.

She stood and turned to Nathan and Duke.

"Is that—" Duke began.

"It's the symbol, but I doubt if it's the man." Audrey answered, knowing what his question was.

"How do you know that?"

"Because, it was supposed to be a tattoo, not a human pumpkin carving." Audrey answered.

* * *

Audrey woke up to the early afternoon sun.

Nathan had managed to convince her to go and get some rest before they began working further on the case.

She had tried to argue, but because of the pirate escapade on Duke's boat before the incident with James, Audrey found that she could refuse Nathan's request.

Audrey glanced at the clock, noticing the time. She rolled out of bed and got a quick shower. She even got dressed quickly.

She had _never_ slept in this late.

Just as Audrey was pulling on her shoes, she heard a knock on her door.

"That's probably Nathan, here to point out I slept in." She laughed to herself.

Not that she ever expected Nathan to do so.

She grabbed her gear and her jacket as she headed toward the door.

However, upon opening the door, she found that it was not Nathan at the door; but Duke.

"Officer Agent Parker." He smiled.

"I'm not on duty yet, Duke; and it's Officer Parker now." Audrey corrected him.

"Running late? Or are you off duty today?"

"I came back to grab some things." Audrey lied.

Duke nodded.

"Is there something I can help you with, Duke?" She asked impatiently.

Duke looked as if he were thinking about it before he answered her.

"Oh, yeah; um two things." Duke spoke excitedly.

Audrey raised an eyebrow at Duke's sudden liveliness.

"One, do you need a ride?"

Audrey reluctantly nodded, knowing how Nathan would interpret that arrival.

"Two?" Audrey asked.

"Two. Those things you had me say on the boat the other day. About saddling a horse, cottage cheese, and the electric slide."

"What about it?"

"Those were things you had me say that I never did." Duke stated.

"Yeah."

"And, uh, I was just wondering, are those things that _you_ never did?"

Audrey was caught off guard and couldn't hide the truth from Duke in that moment.

"You didn't, did you?" Duke asked, sounding shocked.

Audrey folded her arms, giving Duke a meaningful look.

"How is this possible?"

"What does it matter?" Audrey asked.

"Look, are you going to give me a ride or am I walking?" Audrey asked, closing the door behind her as she started to walk toward the parking lot.

"Audrey." Duke spoke softly, as he grabbed her hand, stopping her.

"If we don't leave now, I'm gonna be late." Audrey answered.

"Look, I'm—I'm—s—sor—sorry." Duke spoke, saying the words that were the often the hardest for him to say.

"Don't worry about it. Let's just go." Audrey said pulling her hand from his grasp.

Duke grabbed her hand once more and spun her around to face him.

"I'll make a deal with you." He said.

"I'll give you a ride to work _and_ I'll even help you catch up on the childhood you missed." Duke replied smiling.

Audrey thought about it. Thinking Duke might eventually let it go, she agreed as they walked to his truck and drove to the Haven Police Department.

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	3. Brick By Boring Brick

**Disclaimer: Don't Own, Don't Sue!**** ;D**

**A/N****: So sorry for having not updated this in ages! I've been incredibly busy and had way too much going on. I'll do my best to try and update regularly but it honestly all depends on my work schedule/workload.**

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**Chapter 3****: Brick By Boring Brick**

Audrey entered the station and waked briskly to the office she shared with Nathan in the hopes that the Chief hadn't noticed her late arrival.

Audrey sat down at her desk and began shifting through some files.

Nathan came in with a large cup of coffee and set it on her desk. "Afternoon, Parker."

"Thanks." She replied, graciously sipping the coffee.

"Thought you could use some; been a rough couple days."

Audrey nodded. "So, where's the Chief?" Half-wondering if she should be worrying that she'd be reprimanded about coming in so late.

"If you're worried about him ripping you for just coming in, don't sweat it. He's been swamped with paperwork all morning and just went out for his lunch break."

Audrey let out a sigh of relief as she glanced at the paperwork that she knew awaited her. She had to file a report about the whole James Whittier case that began late last night.

"So he's letting us handle the pumpkin-carver case on our own?" Curious if Chief Wournos would want to know about what they'd responded to last night.

Nathan shrugged. "He thinks it's just some brawl that ended with one injury. Besides, I think he's working on something else entirely at the moment."

"A brawl that ends up with an all-too-convenient symbol and a man who can't remember anything that happened between three people following him and us showing up?" Audrey pointed out incredulously.

"You think that the Troubles have something to do with last night?" Nathan inquired.

"It seems like too much of a coincidence to ignore."

"I did some digging on our new friend, James, this morning."

"And?"

"Nothing. No records of him in the tri-state area."

"Did you try widening the search area?"

Nathan nodded. "Put in a word at several stations in Canada and states further south."

Audrey made a face. It was a bit of a shame that she quit the FBI because she couldn't put in a search on James and get an almost immediate answer.

"You think he might've been lying about his identity?"

"I think we need to pay him a visit at the hospital and see if he's gotten any of his memory back." Audrey answered as she finished her coffee.

* * *

Duke returned to his boat after dropping Audrey off at the station. He didn't linger in front of the building after Audrey got out of his truck.

He noticed Nathan giving him a look from one of the windows of the station as he drove away and silently hoped that Nathan hadn't noticed that the inspection stickers on his truck had expired months ago.

Then again, Duke smirked to himself as he moved some crates on his boat. The only thing standing between his freedom and Nathan throwing him in a cell was Nathan's apathy and of course, Audrey.

Audrey was mostly interested in the troubles and the mystery of Lucy Ripley. She'd only arrested him once since she'd been here and that was earlier on in their friendship.

Besides, they needed him to help with intel and he needed—protection.

He was still uneasy about Pumpkin Boy and his carving. He kept replaying the warning in his mind about the person who's supposed to kill him with that exact marking.

"Duke." A voice called, causing him to almost drop the crate he was carrying.

"Julia, what can I do for you?" He asked with a smirk, setting the crate back down.

"There's something I'd like to show you." She spoke sternly.

* * *

Audrey and Nathan pulled up to the hospital and headed inside to where James was being guarded by two Haven police officers.

Nathan and Audrey flashed their badges at the officers before entering the room.

James was lying in bed, tucked in white hospital sheets, with his injured leg resting above the sheets, bandaged up.

He turned his head to face them as they walked closer to his hospital bed.

"Have you—have you found them yet?" He asked, a whimper lining his voice.

"It would help if we knew _who_ to look for." Nathan stated.

James gave a puzzled look.

"We can't look for someone to charge with assault and battery if we don't even know what they look like." Audrey clarified calmly.

"But I—I already told you. I told you about the three people following me." James stammered.

"That's all you told us." Nathan affirmed. "Three people were following you and between then and emergency response showing up, you don't remember a thing."

James was silent for several moments before Audrey broke the silence.

"What aren't you telling us?" Audrey questioned.

"I've told you everything I could remember." James spoke. "The four of them followed me from the party and the next thing I knew, I was laying on the side of the road."

"Four?" Audrey gave a puzzled look.

"You've been saying since last night there were only three." Nathan noted.

James shook his head violently. "No, there were _four_. Three thugs and an artist."

"An artist beat you up?" Nathan raised an eyebrow.

Audrey suppressed a laugh.

James's face scrunched in pain as he sat up and grabbed at his leg.

"Are you alright?" Audrey asked alarmed.

"It's burning."

"It was a deep gash."

"No, it's on _fire_!" James screeched as he tore at the bandages.

Audrey ran to the door of the hospital room.

"We need help in here now!" She shouted.

Several nurses came rushing in.

"He's convulsing." Nathan announced.

"James, James, listen to me. We need you to hang in there." Audrey spoke, trying to calm James down.

Three nurses steadied him while a fourth ripped the bandage off his disfigured leg.

"Oh my God!" She shrieked, backing away.

Audrey and Nathan moved in closer to view James leg while the three nurses still in the room gave James something to sleep.

"This just got weirder." Audrey concluded.

The symbol carved into James's leg black; as if someone had colored every inch of it in with permanent marker.

Black vines sprouted from the now inked-symbol, inching and inking their way through James's veins, wrapping around his leg and staining it as the symbol began to bleed profusely.

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